Fuel cell system and fuel consumption system

ABSTRACT

A fuel cell system and a fuel consumption system verify the location of a filling failure at a time that a fuel gas filling process suffers from such a filling failure. Either one of encoded data indicating an infrared radiation signal related to the fuel gas filling process, which is sent from a vehicle to an external hydrogen station, and a drive signal, which comprises a train of binary pulses converted from the encoded data, is recorded in a recording unit of the vehicle.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is based upon and claims the benefit of priority fromJapanese Patent Application No. 2013-052025 filed on Mar. 14, 2013, thecontents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a fuel cell system and a fuelconsumption system. In such a fuel cell system, e.g., a fuel cellvehicle, or such a fuel consumption system, e.g., a hydrogen enginevehicle or a CNG (Compressed Natural Gas) vehicle, a fuel storage unitsuch as a gas tank or the like disposed in the system is filled with afuel gas from an external fuel gas supply apparatus such as a gasstation or the like for storing the fuel gas in the fuel storage unit,and thereafter the fuel gas stored in the fuel storage unit is consumed,by way of reaction or combustion, in order to generate and utilizeenergy.

2. Description of the Related Art

Fuel cells such as solid polymer electrolyte fuel cells operate in thefollowing manner. A fuel gas, such as a hydrogen-containing gas, whichis supplied to an anode electrode, is ionized by an electrode catalystinto hydrogen ions. The hydrogen ions then move through an appropriatelyhumidified electrolyte membrane to a cathode electrode. Electrons, whichare generated while the hydrogen ions move from the anode electrode tothe cathode electrode, are supplied to an external circuit, which makesuse of the electrons as DC electric energy. Since the cathode electrodeis supplied with an oxygen-containing gas such as air, the cathodeelectrode allows the hydrogen ions, the electrons, and the oxygen toreact with each other, thereby producing water.

Fuel cell vehicles have been proposed, which are propelled by anelectric motor energized by an energy source including electric energygenerated by a fuel cell and electric energy stored in an electricenergy storage device.

Hydrogen engine vehicles and CNG vehicles have also been proposed, whichare propelled by an engine which operates in such a manner that a fuelgas is injected into the engine and combusted in order to rotate acrankshaft. Rotational energy of the crankshaft is shifted in speedthrough a transmission, and transmitted to enable the vehicles totravel.

Fuel cell systems such as fuel cell vehicles or the like and fuelconsumption systems such as hydrogen engine vehicles or the likepreferably include a fuel storage unit such as a gas tank or the like,which can be filled up completely with a fuel gas in a single fuelfilling process.

Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2011-033068 (hereinafterreferred to as “JP2011-033068A”) discloses a gas filling system. Thedisclosed gas filling system operates in the following manner. When afuel gas supply apparatus supplies a fuel gas to fill a system-side fuelstorage unit, a system-side filling control unit, also referred to as afilling ECU (Electronic Control Unit), sends information concerningcharacteristics of the fuel storage unit as well as the temperature andpressure in the fuel storage unit through a system-side communicationunit to the fuel gas supply apparatus via an infrared communicationslink. Such information is sent at the time that the fuel gas starts tofill the fuel storage unit, as well as while the fuel gas is filling thefuel storage unit, i.e., during the fuel gas filling process.

The fuel gas supply apparatus receives the information concerning thecharacteristics of the fuel storage unit as well as the temperature andpressure in the fuel storage unit, determines a filling rate, etc.,based on the received information, and continues to fill the fuelstorage unit with the fuel gas.

If the filling ECU detects that a filling failure has occurred, e.g., ifthe temperature in the system-side fuel storage unit is unduly high,then the fuel gas supply apparatus, which has received informationconcerning the detected temperature, etc., performs a control process inorder to lower the filling rate based on the received information, andthen continues to fill the fuel storage unit while the temperature inthe fuel storage unit is prevented from increasing further (seeparagraphs [0012], [0015], [0017], and [0025] of JP2011-033068A).

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Upon detection of a filling failure, e.g., in a case where thetemperature in the system-side fuel storage unit is unduly high, thereis a demand for a verifying or analyzing process, which is carried outin order to judge whether the filling failure has occurred in the systemside or the fuel gas supply apparatus side, so as to enable the locationof the filling failure to be identified.

However, nothing is disclosed in JP2011-033068A concerning such averifying or analyzing process for judging whether a filling failure hasoccurred in the system side or the fuel gas supply apparatus side, so asto enable the location of the filling failure to be identified.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a fuel cell systemand a fuel consumption system, which is capable of performing averifying or analyzing process in order determine the location of afilling failure in the event of such a filling failure.

According to the present invention, there is provided a fuel cell systemcomprising a fuel cell, a fuel storage unit for storing a fuel gas thatis supplied to the fuel cell, a storage internal state detector fordetecting an internal state of the fuel storage unit, a transmitter forsending a signal related to a fuel gas filling process to an externalfuel supply source when the external fuel supply source fills the fuelstorage unit with the fuel gas, and a controller having an informationprocessor, which is supplied with a detected value detected by thestorage internal state detector, and which processes information sent tothe external fuel supply source based on the detected value, and a drivesignal generator for converting data processed by the informationprocessor into a drive signal for the transmitter, wherein thecontroller has a recording unit in which there is recorded at least oneof the data processed by the information processor and the drive signalgenerated by the drive signal generator.

According to the present invention, data representing the signal relatedto the fuel gas filling process and the drive signal converted from thedata are sent from the fuel cell system (the system side) to theexterior, and at least one of such data is recorded in the recordingunit of the controller of the fuel cell system. Consequently, in theevent of a filling failure, it is possible to determine whether thefilling failure has occurred in either the fuel cell system or theexternal fuel supply source, by checking whether or not the informationrepresented by the signal related to the fuel gas filling process, whichwas sent from the fuel cell system to the exterior, is abnormal, basedon the recording contents recorded in the recording unit. Therefore, itis possible to verify and analyze the location of the filling failure.

Irrespective of whether or not a filling failure was detected, thecontroller may continuously record at least one of the data and thedrive signal in the recording unit, or may record at least one of thedata and the drive signal in the recording unit if the informationprocessor detects a filling failure based on the detected value. In thecase that the controller records at least one of the data and the drivesignal in the recording unit only if the controller detects a fillingfailure, the storage unit (memory) of the recording unit can have asmall storage capacity.

Instead of recording at least one of the data and the drive signal inthe recording unit of a filling controller, which serves as a controllerfor controlling the fuel gas filling process, at least one of the dataprocessed by the information processor of the filling controller and thedrive signal generated by the drive signal generator of the fillingcontroller may be recorded in a recording unit of a recordingcontroller, which is linked with the filling controller.

According to the present invention, the storage unit of the recordingunit of the filling controller can be eliminated, and thus the size andcost of the filling controller can be reduced.

In this case, if the recording controller has a time grasping function,then the recording controller may record the data and the drive signalin relation to time, thereby making the recorded data and the recordeddrive signal more reliable.

Preferably, the external fuel supply source includes a fuel supplyapparatus for supplying fuel gas to the fuel storage unit, the fuelsupply apparatus having a supply-side receiver for receiving the signalrelated to the fuel gas filling process sent from the transmitter on theside of the fuel storage unit, and a fuel-supply-side transmittercombined with the fuel supply apparatus, for emitting, to the exterior,a signal related to the fuel gas filling process when the fuel supplyapparatus supplies the fuel gas to the fuel storage unit, wherein thefuel cell system further comprises a receiver for receiving the signalsent from the fuel-supply-side transmitter.

With the above arrangement, the controller of the fuel cell system canrecord the signal, which is sent from the fuel-supply-side transmitterand received by the receiver, in the recording unit. Further, therecording controller of the fuel cell system can record the signal,which is sent from the fuel-supply-side transmitter and received by thereceiver. Therefore, when a filling failure occurs, it can be identifiedwith precision whether the filling failure has occurred in the fuel cellsystem or in the fuel supply apparatus, thereby making it possible toverify and analyze the location of the filling failure with greateraccuracy.

According to the present invention, at least one of data representingthe signal related to the fuel gas filling process and the drive signalconverted from such data is recorded on the system side, and/or thesignal transmitted from the fuel-supply-side transmitter and received bythe receiver of the fuel cell system is recorded on the system side. Inaddition to or independently of the above process, at least one of datarepresenting the signal related to the fuel gas filling process and thedrive signal converted from such data may be recorded in a recordingunit of the fuel supply apparatus side, and/or the signal transmittedfrom the system-side transmitter and received by a receiver of the fuelsupply apparatus side may be recorded in the recording unit of the fuelsupply apparatus side.

Furthermore, each of the above-identified inventions can be applied to afuel consumption system that comprises a fuel consumption apparatus.

According to the present invention, at least one of data representingthe signal related to the fuel gas filling process and the drive signalconverted from such data, which are sent from the system side to theexternal fuel supply source side, is recorded in the recording unit ofthe system side. Consequently, in the event of a filling failure, basedon at least one of the data and the drive signal recorded in therecording unit, it is possible to identify whether the filling failurehas occurred in the system or the external fuel supply source.Therefore, it is possible to verify and analyze the location of thefilling failure.

The above and other objects, features, and advantages of the presentinvention will become more apparent from the following description whentaken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which preferredembodiments of the present invention are shown by way of illustrativeexample.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram of a communication filling systemfor supplying a fuel gas to a fuel cell system according to a firstembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic view of the communication filling system shown inFIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of a processing sequence of the fuel cell systemaccording to the first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a drive signal comprising a pulse train;

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of a processing sequence, which is carried out ina modification of the fuel cell system according to the first embodimentof the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a comparison table, which illustrates qualitatively arelationship between the content of log data recorded in a recordingunit and the verification reliability thereof;

FIG. 7 is a graph illustrating various recording timings at which datais recorded;

FIG. 8 is a functional block diagram of a communication filling systemfor supplying a fuel gas to a fuel cell system according to a secondembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 9 is a flowchart of a processing sequence of the fuel cell systemaccording to the second embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 10 is a flowchart of a processing sequence, which is carried out ina modification of the fuel cell system according to the secondembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 11 is a functional block diagram of a communication filling systemfor supplying a fuel gas to a fuel cell system according to a thirdembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 12 is a flowchart of a portion of a processing sequence of the fuelcell system according to the third embodiment of the present invention;and

FIG. 13 is a functional block diagram of a communication filling systemfor supplying a fuel gas to a fuel cell system according to a fourthembodiment of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described indetail below with reference to the drawings.

A fuel cell system, such as a fuel cell vehicle or the like, and a fuelconsumption system, such as a hydrogen engine vehicle or a CNG vehicleor the like, serve as part of a communication filling system, whichsupplies a fuel gas from an external fuel gas supply source (fuel supplysource) in order to fill a system-side fuel storage unit of the fuelcell system or the fuel consumption system while performingcommunications and information-exchange with the fuel supply source. Thecommunication filling system comprises a filling line (gas passage) forsupplying the fuel gas, and a communication line for performing theaforementioned communications and information-exchange byinterconnecting the fuel supply source together with the fuel cellsystem or the fuel consumption system, which includes the system-sidefuel storage unit therein. Communication filling systems, which includea fuel cell system or a fuel consumption system according to firstthrough fourth embodiments of the present invention, will be describedin specific detail below.

First Embodiment

FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram of a communication filling system10 including a hydrogen station 12 as an external fuel supply source,and a fuel cell vehicle (hereinafter also referred to as a “vehicle 14”)according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the communication filling system 10shown in FIG. 1.

The hydrogen station 12 is located adjacent to a road, similar to thecase of a gas station, for example. The hydrogen station 12 enables afuel gas (hydrogen gas) containing chemical energy to be supplied to thefuel cell vehicle 14. The hydrogen station 12 has a main hydrogenstation facility 18 including a supply-side tank 16 (hydrogen tank) forstoring the fuel gas, a hose 20 having an end connected to thesupply-side tank 16, and a nozzle 22 (supply outlet) connected to theother end of the hose 20. The nozzle 22 is removably attached to areceptacle 28 (receiving vessel) of the vehicle 14 for filling thevehicle 14 with the fuel gas. While the nozzle 22 and the receptacle 28are mechanically and electrically connected to each other, the hydrogenstation 12 is operated according to a predetermined process in order toguide the fuel gas from the supply-side tank 16 through the hose 20 tothe nozzle 22, and to fill the vehicle 14 with fuel gas from the nozzle22.

The vehicle 14 that is connected to the hydrogen station 12 through thehose 20 carries a fuel cell 42 (hereinafter referred to as an “FC 42”)therein, which generates electric energy by an electrochemical reactionbetween a fuel gas and an oxidizing gas, e.g., air. The vehicle 14 ispropelled by the FC 42, which serves as a power source. The vehicle 14has a vehicle body 14 a that defines the appearance of the vehicle 14. Afuel introduction box (housing unit) for introducing the fuel gas intothe vehicle 14 is disposed on a side wall of the vehicle body 14 a neara rear end thereof. The fuel introduction box 26 houses the receptacle28 fixedly therein, in such a manner that the nozzle 22 can be connectedto the receptacle 28.

The receptacle 28 is connected through a pipe 40 to a vehicle-side tank30 (fuel storage unit) in the vehicle 14. For filling the vehicle-sidetank 30 with fuel gas, the user or the like connects the nozzle 22 onthe distal end of the hose 20 to the receptacle 28, thereby completing agas passageway, i.e., a filling line, between the supply-side tank 16and the vehicle-side tank 30.

A communication line between the hydrogen station 12 and the vehicle 14is completed when a wireless communications link, by way of infraredcommunications or the like according to a predetermined protocol, isestablished between a supply-side receiver 32 on the distal end of thenozzle 22 and a vehicle-side transmitter 34 on an outer circumferentialsurface of the receptacle 28.

The main hydrogen station facility 18 also includes, in addition to thesupply-side tank 16 and the other components described above, asupply-side ECU 36 (supply-side controller) for controlling the hydrogenstation 12. The supply-side ECU 36 monitors the state of the fuel gasthat is stored in the supply-side tank 16, detects the connected stateof the vehicle 14 and the nozzle 22, and controls turning on and turningoff of the fuel gas filling process. The supply-side ECU 36 also has aflow rate control function for recognizing (monitoring) characteristicsand an internal state of the vehicle-side tank 30, and for controllingthe amount of fuel gas supplied and the rate (filling rate) at which thefuel gas is supplied when the vehicle-side tank 30 is filled with thefuel gas.

As described above, the supply-side receiver 32 is mounted on the nozzle22 of the hydrogen station 12. The supply-side receiver 32 is connectedelectrically to the supply-side ECU 36. The supply-side receiver 32 hasa receiving device, which receives an infrared radiation pulse signal(pulse train) L transmitted from a transmitting device of thevehicle-side transmitter 34, and a non-illustrated electric circuit,which converts the received pulse signal into a current signal, convertsthe current signal into a voltage signal, amplifies the voltage signal,and sends the amplified voltage signal to the supply-side ECU 36. Thetransmitting device may comprise any of various devices capable oftransmitting or emitting the infrared radiation pulse signal L, e.g., aninfrared light-emitting diode (infrared LED). The receiving device maycomprise any of various devices capable of detecting the infraredradiation pulse signal L, e.g., a photodiode (PD).

The vehicle 14 includes the vehicle-side tank 30, an FC (Fuel Cell) 42connected to the vehicle-side tank 30 through a fuel gas passageway, afilling ECU 44 (filling controller) for monitoring the state of the fuelgas filled in the vehicle-side tank 30, and a fuel cell ECU 48(hereinafter referred to as an “FCECU 48”) for controlling the FC 42.The FCECU 48 serves as a main controller, which may also be referred toas a vehicle controller. The filling ECU 44 may also be referred to asan auxiliary controller. The FCECU 48 is capable of processing data at arate higher than the filling ECU 44, and has a recording unit (memory)with a larger storage capacity than the filling ECU 44.

The filling ECU 44 and the FCECU 48 are capable of communicating witheach other. The filling ECU 44 and the FCECU 48 each comprises a CPU, amemory, an interface, a timer, etc. Processing sequences according topredetermined programs are performed respectively in the filling ECU 44and the FCECU 48.

The FC 42 comprises a stack of fuel cells. Under control of the FCECU48, the FC 42 generates electrical energy based on a chemical reaction,which is carried out between the fuel gas supplied from the vehicle-sidetank 30 and an oxidizing gas (compressed air) supplied from a compressor46. The FC 42 supplies a direct current under a high DC voltage asgenerated electrical energy. The direct current from the FC 42 isconverted into an alternating current by a non-illustrated inverter, theduty ratio of which is controlled by the FCECU 48. The alternatingcurrent from the inverter is supplied to a non-illustrated propulsiveelectric motor of the vehicle 14.

The vehicle-side tank 30 is combined with a pressure sensor 49 (storageinternal state detector), which detects the pressure (gas pressure) inthe vehicle-side tank 30 and supplies a pressure value p as a detectionsignal, and a temperature sensor 50 (storage internal state detector),which detects the temperature (gas temperature) in the vehicle-side tank30 and supplies a temperature value t as a detection signal. Thepressure sensor 49 and the temperature sensor 50 are electricallyconnected to the filling ECU 44, and transmit the detection signalsrepresenting the pressure value p and the temperature value t to thefilling ECU 44.

The filling ECU 44 includes an information processor 52 for convertingthe pressure value p transmitted from the pressure sensor 49 and thetemperature value t transmitted from the temperature sensor 50 intoencoded data d, an abort signal generator 54 for generating an abortsignal (stop signal) Sa based on the pressure value p, the temperaturevalue t, and a state-of-charge value SOC calculated from the pressurevalue p and the temperature value t, a drive signal generator 56 forconverting the encoded data d into a drive signal f for the vehicle-sidetransmitter 34, and a recording unit 60, which forms a portion of thememory of the filling ECU 44, for recording the encoded data d and/orthe drive signal f in raw form, i.e., in an unprocessed condition.

The fuel introduction box 26 of the vehicle 14 functions as anintroduction unit for connecting the vehicle 14 to the external hydrogenstation 12 or the like. As described above, the fuel introduction box 26houses the receptacle 28 and the vehicle-side transmitter 34 therein.

Normally, when filling of the vehicle-side tank 30 with the fuel gas isnot being performed, the fuel introduction box 26 is closed by anon-illustrated lid. The non-illustrated lid is mechanically connectedto a lid opener, not shown, which selectively opens and closes the lid.The lid opener is controlled for opening and closing the lid by thefilling ECU 44. The fuel introduction box 26 is combined with a sensor,not shown, which detects the connected state of the nozzle 22 and thereceptacle 28 and sends a detection signal to the filling ECU 44. Thefilling ECU 44 generates and outputs the drive signal f, whichrepresents information concerning the temperature value t, the pressurevalue p, and the abort signal Sa.

[Operations and Advantages of the First Embodiment]

The vehicle 14, which serves as a fuel cell system according to thefirst embodiment, basically is configured as described above. Operationsand advantages (including a processing sequence) of the vehicle 14 willbe described below with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. 3.

For filling the vehicle 14 with fuel gas, the operator or user of thevehicle 14 moves in close proximity to the hydrogen station 12, andopens a non-illustrated lid of the fuel introduction box 26 while thevehicle 14 is stopped without electrical energy being generated therein,i.e., while the FCECU 48 and the filling ECU 44 are in a stopped orsleeping state. The operator moves the nozzle 22 toward the projectingreceptacle 28 in the fuel introduction box 26, so as to insert thereceptacle 28 into the nozzle 22 and thereby fit the nozzle 22 over thereceptacle 28. In this manner, when the nozzle 22 and the receptacle areconnected mechanically to each other, the vehicle-side transmitter 34and the supply-side receiver 32 are spaced from each other or positionedwith respect to each other so as to enable infrared communications to becarried out therebetween. Then in step S1, the filling ECU 44 isactivated.

After the nozzle 22 and the receptacle 28 are connected to each other,and while the vehicle-side transmitter 34 and the supply-side receiver32 are capable of sending and receiving signals to and from each other,the supply-side ECU 36 starts to fill the vehicle-side tank 30 of thevehicle 14 with fuel gas, based on the information represented by thedrive signal f from the filling ECU 44. In other words, a fuel gasfilling process is initiated.

Fuel gas is supplied from the supply-side tank 16 through the hose 20 tothe nozzle 22, from which the fuel gas flows into the receptacle 28.Thereafter, the fuel gas is supplied from the receptacle 28 through thepipe 40 to the vehicle-side tank 30 in which the fuel gas is stored.

The vehicle-side tank 30 is supplied continuously with the fuel gasuntil the fuel gas reaches a certain level, e.g., until the fuel gas inthe vehicle-side tank 30 reaches a gas pressure of 35 [MPa]. When thevehicle-side tank 30 is filled with fuel gas, the pressure in thevehicle-side tank 30 increases and the temperature therein also rises.

In order to monitor the pressure and temperature in the vehicle-sidetank 30, in step S2, the pressure sensor 49 and the temperature sensor50 in the vehicle-side tank 30 measure or detect the pressure andtemperature in the vehicle-side tank 30 at each predetermined timeinterval T, and supply the detected pressure and temperature as apressure value p and a temperature value t to the filling ECU 44.

In step S3, based on the pressure value p supplied from the pressuresensor 49 and the temperature value t supplied from the temperaturesensor 50, the information processor 52 of the filling ECU 44 generatesencoded data d, which represent the pressure value p and the temperaturevalue t, etc., and which are supplied as output data. The encoded data dmay also include a state-of-charge value SOC.

In step S4, the abort signal generator 54 determines whether or not afailure has occurred based on whether the pressure value p and thetemperature value t, etc., represented by the encoded data d exceedrespective threshold values.

In an initial cycle in step S4, the abort signal generator 54 judgesthat a failure has not occurred (step S4: NO), and in step S4R, theinformation processor 52 resets a failure flag Fa. Then, in step S5, theinformation processor 52 sends the pressure value p and the temperaturevalue t, etc., represented by the encoded data d to the drive signalgenerator 56. The drive signal generator 56 generates a drive signal fincluding the pressure value p and the temperature value t, etc., andoutputs the generated drive signal f.

FIG. 4 shows by way of example the drive signal f, which comprises atrain of pulses, i.e., on and off levels, e.g., binary levels of 5 [V]and 0 [V], which are supplied from the drive signal generator 56. Therespective pulses of the drive signal f are generated and supplied ateach predetermined time interval T, which may be constant or variable.The drive signal f includes data 1, 2, 3, . . . as pulses, each of whichcontains information concerning the characteristics of the vehicle-sidetank 30, the pressure value p, the temperature t, etc. The data 2 andthe data subsequent thereto need not necessarily contain thecharacteristics of the vehicle-side tank 30.

After the drive signal f is generated in step S5, in step S6, thefilling ECU 44 judges whether or not the failure flag Fa has been set(or reset). If the failure flag Fa has not been set, i.e., if a failurehas not occurred (step S6: NO), then in step S7, the drive signal fsupplied from the drive signal generator 56 is supplied to thevehicle-side transmitter 34, which turns on and off the transmittingdevice based on the on and off levels of the drive signal f, which inturn causes emission of an infrared radiation pulse signal L as a trainof pulses, i.e., on and off binary levels, to the supply-side receiver32. The receiving device of the supply-side receiver 32 detects theinfrared radiation pulse signal L, which is representative of the drivesignal f, and transmits the drive signal f to the supply-side ECU 36.

Based on the received drive signal f, which represents thecharacteristics of the vehicle-side tank 30, the pressure value p, andthe temperature t, etc., the supply-side ECU 36 adjusts the amount ofsupplied fuel gas and the rate (filling rate) at which the fuel gas issupplied when the vehicle-side tank 30 starts to be filled with the fuelgas, as well as the amount of supplied fuel gas and the rate (fillingrate) at which the fuel gas is supplied during the time that thevehicle-side tank 30 is being filled with the fuel gas. In this manner,the supply-side tank 16 is capable of supplying the fuel gas dependingon the characteristics and state of the vehicle-side tank 30, thusmaking it possible to fill the vehicle-side tank 30 efficiently with thefuel gas.

In step S8, the filling ECU 44 judges whether or not the fuel gasfilling process is finished. The answer to step S8 is affirmative (stepS8: YES) when the vehicle-side tank 30 has been completely filled or ifan un-adjustable failure has occurred. If the fuel gas filling processis finished, then in step S9, the filling ECU 44 is shut down, and theprocessing sequence is brought to an end. The process carried out fromstep S2 to step S8: NO (i.e., steps S2, S3, S4: NO, steps S4R, S5, S6:NO, and steps S7, S8: NO) is repeated at each predetermined timeinterval T, e.g., 100 [ms], until the answer to step S8 becomesaffirmative.

While the process from step S2 to step S8: NO is repeated, if the answerto step S4 is affirmative (step S4: YES), then in step S4A, theinformation processor 52 sets the failure flag Fa, and the abort signalgenerator 54 generates the abort signal Sa and the encoded data d thatincludes the abort signal Sa encoded therein.

The abort signal generator 54 generates the abort signal Sa if thetemperature value t in the vehicle-side tank 30 becomes equal to orhigher than a predetermined value, if the pressure value p in thevehicle-side tank 30 becomes equal to or higher than a predeterminedvalue, or if the state-of-charge value SOC, which is calculated from thetemperature value t and the pressure value p, becomes equal to or higherthan a predetermined value. Accordingly, the abort signal Sa, which isgenerated in the foregoing manner, includes information thereinconcerning the occurrence of the failure.

When the abort signal Sa is generated, then in step S4B, the informationprocessor 52 records in the recording unit 60 the pressure value p andthe temperature value t, which are represented by the encoded data dgenerated in step S3 at the time that the answer to step S4 isaffirmative. Further, at this time, the information processor 52 mayalso record the state-of-charge value SOC in the recording unit 60.

In step S5, after step S4B, the information processor 52 sends thepressure value p, the temperature value t, and the abort signal Sarepresented by the encoded data d, which are indicative of a failure, tothe drive signal generator 56, which generates a drive signal fcomprising a train of pulses, i.e., on and off binary levels includingthe pressure value p and the temperature value t, and the abort signalSa encoded therein, and supplies the generated drive signal f.

Since the answer to step S6, by which it is judged whether or not thefailure flag Fa has been set, is affirmative (step S6: YES), i.e., sincethe failure flag Fa was set in step S4A, then in step S6A, the drivesignal f supplied from the drive signal generator 56 is recorded in therecording unit 60 in synchronism with, i.e., in relation to, the encodeddata d.

In step S7, the drive signal generator 56 supplies the drive signal frepresenting the encoded data d (i.e., the pressure value p, thetemperature value t, and the abort signal Sa), which are judged asindicating a failure, to the vehicle-side transmitter 34. Thevehicle-side transmitter 34 sends an infrared radiation pulse signal L,which is representative of the drive signal, to the supply-side receiver32. The supply-side receiver 32 receives the drive signal f by detectingthe infrared radiation pulse signal L from the vehicle-side transmitter34, decodes the encoded data d into the pressure value p, thetemperature value t, and the abort signal Sa, and transmits the pressurevalue p, the temperature value t, and the abort signal Sa to thesupply-side ECU 36.

Based on the drive signal f (i.e., the pressure value p, the temperaturevalue t, and the abort signal Sa decoded from the encoded data d thatwas judged as indicating a failure), the supply-side ECU 36 adjusts theamount of supplied fuel gas and the rate (filling rate) at which thefuel gas is supplied at the time that the vehicle-side tank 30 is filledwith the fuel gas. For example, if the detected temperature value t isin excess of the predetermined (threshold) value, then the supply-sideECU 36 reduces the flow rate of the fuel gas, or cancels the fuel gasfilling process.

After the answer to step S4 becomes affirmative (step S4: YES), thefilling ECU 44 repeats the process from step S2 to step S8: NO (stepsS2, S3, S4: YES, steps S4A, S4B, S5, S6: YES, and steps S6A, S7, S8: NO)once or a plurality of times. If the answer to step S4 does not becomenegative (step S4: NO), i.e., if the failure is not eliminated, then theanswer to step S8 is made affirmative (step S8: YES) while the aboveprocess is repeated, and in step S9, the fuel gas filling processperformed by the filling ECU 44 is stopped.

When the fuel gas filling process is stopped due to the occurrence of afailure, a warning preferably is given to the user by way of speech, animage, or the like in order for the user to make a judgment.

As described above, the fuel cell vehicle 14, which serves as a fuelcell system according to the first embodiment, includes the FC 42, thevehicle-side tank 30 as a fuel storage unit for storing a fuel gas thatis supplied to the FC 42, the pressure sensor 49 and the temperaturesensor 50, which serve as a storage internal state detector fordetecting the pressure value p and the temperature value t as aninternal state of the vehicle-side tank 30, the vehicle-side transmitter34, which sends the drive signal f as a signal related to a fuel gasfilling process by way of the infrared radiation pulse signal L to thesupply-side receiver 32 of the external hydrogen station 12 during thetime that the external hydrogen station 12 fills the vehicle-side tank30 with the fuel gas, and the filling ECU 44, which serves as a fillingcontroller. The filling ECU 44 includes the information processor 52,which is supplied with the pressure value p and the temperature value tas detected values detected by the pressure sensor 49 and thetemperature sensor 50, and the filling ECU 44 processes information thatis sent to the supply-side receiver 32 based on the pressure value p andthe temperature value t. The filling ECU 44 further includes the drivesignal generator 56 for converting the encoded data d processed by theinformation processor 52 into the drive signal f for the vehicle-sidetransmitter 34.

The filling ECU 44 includes the recording unit 60, which records theencoded data d processed by the information processor 52 and the drivesignal f generated by the drive signal generator 56.

In the event of the occurrence of a filling failure (step S4: YES), itis possible to reliably judge whether the filling failure was caused bya failure of a command from the fuel cell vehicle 14 or a failure of thehydrogen station 12, by judging whether or not there is a failure in theinformation represented by the encoded data d as a signal related to thefuel gas filling process, which are sent from the fuel cell vehicle 14to the external hydrogen station 12, and the drive signal f, which iscloser to raw data, comprising a train of pulses, i.e., on and offbinary levels, of the infrared radiation pulse signal L, based on thedata recorded in the recording unit 60. Therefore, it is possible toverify the location of the filling failure.

During the processing sequence according to the flowchart shown in FIG.3, the filling ECU 44 records the encoded data d and the drive signal fin the recording unit only if the filling ECU 44 detects a fillingfailure (step S4: YES and step S6: YES). Therefore, the storage unit(memory) of the recording unit 60 can have a small storage capacity.

[Modification of the First Embodiment and Operations and AdvantagesThereof]

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of a processing sequence of a modification of thefuel cell vehicle 14 according to the first embodiment of the presentinvention. This modification is designed to verify and analyze thelocation of a filling failure more accurately and in greater detail,i.e., to increase the reliability of the verification process.

According to the modification of the fuel cell vehicle 14, even if afailure has not occurred as a result of the failure judging process instep S4 (step S4: NO), then in step S4C, the pressure value p and thetemperature value t of the encoded data d are recorded in the recordingunit 60. Regardless of the result of the failure judging process in stepS4, in step S6C, the drive signal f supplied from the drive signalgenerator 56 in step S5 is recorded in the recording unit 60 insynchronism with the encoded data d that was recorded in steps S4B andS4C.

FIG. 6 is a comparison table 100, which qualitatively illustrates therelationship between the content of the data recorded in the recordingunit 60, i.e., the log data, and the verification reliability thereof.The content of the log data recorded in the recording unit 60 may bechanged in such a way that at least one of the encoded data d processedby the information processor 52 and the drive signal f generated by thedrive signal generator 56 is recorded in the recording unit 60. Forexample, if the process of recording the drive signal f, which iscarried out in step S6C of the flowchart shown in FIG. 5, is omitted,then in steps S4B and S4C, only the encoded data d are recorded in therecording unit 60. Further, if the process of recording the encoded datad, which is carried out in steps S4B and S4C, is omitted, then in stepS6C, only the drive signal f is recorded in the recording unit 60.

In the comparison table 100, according to a first proposal, only thedrive signal f corresponding to the raw data of the transmitted train ofpulses is recorded. According to a second proposal, only the encodeddata d are recorded. According to a third proposal, both the drivesignal f and the encoded data d are recorded.

According to the first proposal, the drive signal f is recorded as datain compliance with infrared communications standards. According to thesecond proposal, the encoded data d are recorded in a freely selectabledata format. According to the third proposal, the drive signal f and theencoded data d are recorded with high redundancy.

It is possible to determine with high reliability whether a failure hasoccurred in the vehicle 14 or the hydrogen station 12 by verifying thecontent of the drive signal f, which is made up of data in compliancewith infrared communications standards, the data being recorded in therecording unit 60. The first through third proposals may be madeavailable in a selectable manner.

FIG. 7 is a graph illustrating various recording timings at which datais recorded. It is assumed that the vehicle-side tank 30 starts to befilled at time t0, whereas a failure occurs and the abort signal Sa isgenerated at time ta. The horizontal axis of the graph represents time,and the vertical axis represents the pressure value p, for example. Thevertical axis may alternatively represent the temperature value t or thestate-of-charge value SOC.

The timings 102 indicated by the solid dots show that after thevehicle-side tank 30 starts to be filled at time t0, data are recordedat certain time intervals, e.g., at the above-described time intervalsT, and data also are recorded at certain time intervals after thefailure has occurred at time ta, i.e., after the abort signal Sa hasbeen generated. Although the size of the recorded data is large, thedata, which are recorded at the timings 102, increases the reliabilityof the verification process.

The timing 104 indicated by the asterisk shows that data are recordedonly once after the failure has occurred at time ta. Thus, although thesize of the recorded data is small, the verification process remainsacceptable.

The timings 106 indicated by the circles show that data are recorded aplurality of times after the failure has occurred at time ta. In thiscase, although the size of the recorded data is relatively small, thedata recorded at the timings 106 increase the reliability of theverification process.

If data are recorded cyclically on a first-in first-out basis over acertain period of time, e.g., over a period of time that is long enoughto generate data in a range from several data to several tens of data,then if a failure occurs at time ta, it is possible to record data in arange from several data to several tens of data that take place acrossthe time ta. Therefore, the recorded data makes the above-describedsecond verification process most reliable after the data are recorded atthe timings 102. At the same time, the size of the recorded data remainsrelatively small.

The timings 102, 104, and 106, recording of the cyclical data, thenumber of data recorded thereby, and the recording time intervals may bemade available in a selectable manner. Such data may be recorded inconnection with date and time information, as will be described later.

Second Embodiment

The above-described filling ECU 44 is an ECU that is dedicated tocarrying out filling of the vehicle-side tank 30 with fuel gas when thevehicle 14 is at rest, i.e., at a time that the FC 42 has stoppedgenerating electric energy. Therefore, the storage capacity of therecording unit 60, i.e., the memory capacity, is relatively small. Ifthe memory capacity is increased, then the cost of the filling ECU 44 isincreased. According to the second embodiment, the FCECU 48 of thevehicle 14, which has a relatively large memory capacity, is used as arecording controller. Components of the invention and flowchart stepsaccording to the second embodiment, which are identical to thosedescribed above according to the first embodiment, are denoted byidentical reference characters, and such features will not be describedin detail below.

FIG. 8 is a functional block diagram of a communication filling system10A including a hydrogen station 12 as an external fuel supply source,and a fuel cell vehicle 14A (hereinafter also referred to as a “vehicle14A”) as a fuel cell system according to the second embodiment of thepresent invention.

As shown in FIG. 8, the vehicle 14A includes a filling ECU 44A and anFCECU 48A, which are provided in place of the filling ECU 44 and theFCECU 48 shown in FIG. 1 according to the first embodiment.

The drive signal f generated by the drive signal generator 56 of thefilling ECU 44A is supplied through a branch line 74 from an outputterminal of the drive signal generator 56 to a recording unit 70 of theFCECU 48A.

The FCECU 48A, which is a high-functionality ECU, comprises a real-timeclock (RTC) 72, which operates as a time manager for managing time(year, month, date, hour, minute, second). In other words, the FCECU 48Aincludes a time managing function.

The recording unit 70 of the FCECU 48A records therein the encoded datad and/or the drive signal f in synchronism with the time (year, month,date, hour, minute, second) managed by the RTC 72.

[Operations and Advantages of the Second Embodiment]

The vehicle 14A, which serves as a fuel cell system according to thesecond embodiment, basically is configured as described above.Operations and advantages of the vehicle 14A will be described belowwith reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. 9 alongside of theflowchart of FIG. 3. FIG. 9 is a flowchart of a processing sequence ofthe fuel cell system according to the second embodiment of the presentinvention.

According to the processing sequence of the flowchart shown in FIG. 9,unlike the processing sequence of the flowchart shown in FIG. 3, if theanswer to step S4 is affirmative (step S4: YES), then the informationprocessor 52 sets the failure flag Fa. In addition, in step S4A, theinformation processor 52 generates an abort signal Sa together withencoded data d including the abort signal Sa.

In the next step S1A, the FCECU 48A, which is a vehicle ECU in asleeping state, is activated by the filling ECU 44A. When the abortsignal Sa is generated and if the answer to step S4 is affirmative, thenin step S4D, the information processor 52 of the filling ECU 44Arequests that the FCECU 48A record in the recording unit 70 the pressurevalue p and the temperature value t of the encoded data d that wasgenerated in step S3. In response to such a request, the FCECU 48A alsoreads the time information from the RTC 72, and records the encoded datad in synchronism with the time information in the recording unit 70.

Since the answer to step S6, by which it is judged whether or not thefailure flag Fa has been set, is affirmative (step S6: YES), the drivesignal f supplied from the drive signal generator 56 of the filling ECU44A is supplied through the branch line 74 to the FCECU 48A, and in stepS6D, the drive signal f is recorded in the recording unit 70 as raw datamade up of a train of pulses, in synchronism with or in relation to theencoded data d and the time information.

After the answer to step S4 becomes affirmative (step S4: YES), thefilling ECU 44A repeats the process from step S2 to step S8: NO (stepsS2, S3, S4: YES, steps S4A, S1A, S4D, S5, S6: YES, and steps S6D, S7,S8: NO) once or a plurality of times. If the answer to step S4 does notbecome negative (step S4: NO), i.e., if the failure is not eliminatedwhile the above process is repeated, then in step S9A, the FCECU 48A,which serves as the vehicle ECU, is shut down, and in step S9, thefilling ECU 44A, which has performed the fuel gas filling process, isshut down.

When the fuel gas filling process is stopped due to the occurrence of afailure, a warning preferably is given to the user by way of speech, animage, or the like, to thereby enable the user to make a judgment.

As described above, the fuel cell vehicle 14A, which serves as a fuelcell system according to the second embodiment, includes the FC 42, thevehicle-side tank 30 as a fuel storage unit for storing a fuel gas thatis supplied to the FC 42, the pressure sensor 49 and the temperaturesensor 50, which serve as a storage internal state detector fordetecting the pressure value p and the temperature value t as aninternal state of the vehicle-side tank 30, the vehicle-side transmitter34, which sends the drive signal f as a signal related to a fuel gasfilling process to the supply-side receiver 32 of the external hydrogenstation 12 when the external hydrogen station 12 fills the vehicle-sidetank 30 with the fuel gas, and the filling ECU 44A, which serves as afilling controller. The filling ECU 44A includes the informationprocessor 52, which is supplied with the pressure value p and thetemperature value t as detected values detected by the pressure sensor49 and the temperature sensor 50. The filling ECU 44A processesinformation that is sent to the supply-side receiver 32 based on thepressure value p and the temperature value t. The filling ECU 44Afurther includes the drive signal generator 56 for converting theencoded data d processed by the information processor 52 into the drivesignal f for the vehicle-side transmitter 34. The fuel cell vehicle 14Aaccording to the second embodiment also includes the FCECU 48A, whichserves as a recording controller for recording in the recording unit 70the encoded data d processed by the information processor 52 of thefilling ECU 44A, and the drive signal f generated by the drive signalgenerator 56 of the filling ECU 44A.

In addition to the advantages described above with respect to the firstembodiment, the second embodiment also offers the advantage that therecording unit 60 can be eliminated from the filling ECU 44A, therebyreducing the size and cost of the filling ECU 44A.

The FCECU 48A, which serves as the recording controller, is a high-levelECU as a vehicle ECU, which includes a time grasping function based onthe RTC 72. The FCECU 48A can record the encoded data d and the drivesignal f in relation to time in the recording unit 70, such that therecorded data are made highly reliable and verification of the recordeddata is facilitated.

According to the second embodiment, similar to the case of theprocessing sequence according to the flowchart of the first embodimentshown in FIG. 3, the filling ECU 44A records the encoded data d and thedrive signal f in the recording unit 70 only if the filling ECU 44Adetects a filling failure (step S4: YES, step S6: YES). Therefore, thestorage unit (memory) of the recording unit 70 can have a small storagecapacity.

[Modification of the Second Embodiment]

FIG. 10 is a flowchart of a processing sequence, which is carried out ina modification of the fuel cell system according to the secondembodiment of the present invention. With the fuel cell vehicle 14Aaccording to the second embodiment, similar to the case of theprocessing sequence according to the flowchart shown in FIG. 5 inrelation to the modification of the first embodiment, the filling ECU44A is activated in step S1, and thereafter, the FCECU 48A, which servesas the vehicle ECU, is activated in step S1B.

Even if a failure has not occurred (step S4: NO) as a result of thefailure judging process performed in step S4, in step S4E, the pressurevalue p and the temperature value t of the encoded data d are recordedin synchronism with time information in the recording unit 70 of theFCECU 48A. Regardless of the result of the failure judging processperformed in step S4, in step S6E, the drive signal f supplied from thedrive signal generator 56 in step S5 is recorded as a drive signal fmade up of raw data in the recording unit 70 in synchronism with theencoded data d that is recorded in steps S4E and S4D.

The fuel cell vehicle 14A according to the second embodiment may employany one of the first through third proposals described above withreference to the comparison table 100 shown in FIG. 6, and may alsoemploy any one of the timings at which data is recorded, as describedabove with reference to FIG. 7. The first through third proposals andthe timings at which data is recorded may also be employed in a similarmanner in a third embodiment and a fourth embodiment, to be describedbelow.

Third Embodiment and Operations and Advantages Thereof

According to the first embodiment and the second embodiment describedabove, the encoded data d and/or the drive signal f relative to theinfrared radiation pulse signal L, which is transmitted from thevehicle-side transmitter 34 of the fuel cell vehicles 14, 14A to thesupply-side receiver 32 of the hydrogen station 12 as an external fuelgas supply apparatus, is recorded in the recording units 60, 70.However, the drive signal f and/or the encoded data d relative to aninfrared radiation pulse signal L, which is transmitted from asupply-side transmitter 82 of an external hydrogen station 12A to avehicle-side receiver 84 of a fuel cell system, may be recorded in therecording units 60, 70.

FIG. 11 is a functional block diagram of a communication filling system10B including a hydrogen station 12A, which serves as an external fuelsupply source, and a fuel cell vehicle 14B (hereinafter also referred toas a “vehicle 14B”), which serves as a fuel cell system according to athird embodiment of the present invention.

The communication filling system 10B includes, in the hydrogen station12A, which is provided external to the vehicle 14B and serves as a fuelsupply apparatus for supplying a fuel gas to the vehicle-side tank 30,the supply-side receiver 32, which serves as a fuel-supply-side receiverfor receiving a signal related to a fuel gas filling process sent fromthe vehicle-side transmitter 34 of the vehicle 14B, e.g., an infraredradiation pulse signal L1, and a supply-side transmitter 82, whichserves as a fuel-supply-side transmitter for transmitting a signalrelated to the fuel gas filling process during the time that the fuelgas is supplied to the vehicle-side tank 30. The vehicle 14B has avehicle-side receiver 84 for receiving a signal transmitted from thesupply-side transmitter 82, e.g., an infrared radiation pulse signal L2,and a filling ECU 48B which records, in the recording unit 60, a drivesignal r as a signal that is recorded and decoded by the vehicle-sidereceiver 84. The drive signal r is generated originally by thesupply-side ECU 36. As indicated by the two-dot-and-dash line, thedecoded drive signal r may be recorded in synchronism with timeinformation in the recording unit 70 of the FCECU 48A, which serves as arecording controller.

In place of or in addition to recording of the drive signal r, which isequivalent to raw data of the infrared radiation signal L2, encoded datad generated by processing the drive signal r may be recorded in therecording unit 60 and/or the recording unit 70.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart of a portion of a processing sequence of the fuelcell system according to the third embodiment of the present invention.As indicated by the flowchart shown in FIG. 12, an additional step S7Afor judging whether or not the drive signal r has been received is addedbetween step S7 and step S8 of the flowcharts shown in each of FIGS. 3,5, 9, and 10. Further, if the vehicle-side receiver 84 has received anddecoded the drive signal r (step S7A: YES), then in step S7B, the drivesignal r is recorded in the recording units 60, 70, and in step S7C, theencoded data d, which is generated by processing the drive signal r withthe information processor 52, is recorded in the recording units 60, 70.

With the vehicle 14B according to the third embodiment, the filling ECU48B can record the signals transmitted from the supply-side transmitter82 and received by the vehicle-side receiver 84, for example, the drivesignal r as an infrared radiation signal L2 and/or the encoded data d,in the recording units 60, 70. Consequently, in the event of a fillingfailure, it is possible to accurately determine whether the fillingfailure has occurred in the fuel cell system or in the fuel supplyapparatus. Therefore, it is possible to verify and analyze the locationof the filling failure.

Fourth Embodiment

Each of the first through third embodiments described above is directedto a fuel cell system. However, in addition to such a fuel cell system,the present invention also is applicable to a fuel consumption system,e.g., a hydrogen engine vehicle or a CNG vehicle.

FIG. 13 is a functional block diagram of a communication filling system10C including the hydrogen station 12A, which serves as an external fuelsupply source, and a CNG vehicle 14C (hereinafter also referred to as a“vehicle 14C”), which serves as a fuel consumption system according to afourth embodiment of the present invention.

In the CNG vehicle 14C, natural gas is supplied from the vehicle-sidetank 30 through a non-illustrated pressure reducing valve. The naturalgas is injected from an injector 96 into an engine 142 under the controlof a CNGECU 148. The CNGECU 148 includes the recording unit 70 and theRTC 72, similar to the case of the FCECU 48A shown in FIG. 11, forexample.

The CNG vehicle 14C includes the engine 142, which operates as a fuelconsumption apparatus, the vehicle-side tank 30, which serves as a fuelstorage unit for storing a fuel gas that is supplied to the engine 142,the pressure sensor 49 and the temperature sensor 50, which function asstorage internal state detectors for detecting the pressure value p andthe temperature value t as an internal state of the vehicle-side tank30, the vehicle-side transmitter 34 for sending signals related to thefuel gas filling process to the supply-side receiver 32 of the externalhydrogen station 12A when the external hydrogen station 12A fills thevehicle-side tank 30 with the fuel gas, and the filling ECU 48B thatoperates as a controller. The filling ECU 48B includes the informationprocessor 52, which is supplied with the pressure value p and thetemperature value t as detected values detected by the pressure sensor49 and the temperature sensor 50. The information processor 52 processesinformation that is sent to the supply-side receiver 32 based on thepressure value p and the temperature value t. The filling ECU 48Bfurther includes the drive signal generator 56 for converting theencoded data d (the pressure value p, the temperature value t, and theabort signal Sa) processed by the information processor 52 into thedrive signal f for the vehicle-side transmitter 34.

The filling ECU 48B includes the recording unit 60, in which there arerecorded at least one of the encoded data d processed by the informationprocessor 52 and the drive signal f generated by the drive signalgenerator 56.

The advantages that accrue from recording data in the recording units60, 70 are the same as those of the first through third embodimentsdescribed above, and will not be described in detail below.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiments. Variouschanges and modifications may be made to the embodiments based on theforegoing descriptions thereof. For example, the encoded data d and thedrive signals r, f may be recorded in a recording unit such as thememory in the supply-side ECU 36 of the hydrogen stations 12, 12A.

While the invention has been particularly shown and described withreference to preferred embodiments, it will be understood thatvariations and modifications can be effected thereto by those skilled inthe art without departing from the scope of the invention as defined bythe appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A fuel cell system comprising: a fuel cell; a fuel storage unit for storing a fuel gas that is supplied to the fuel cell; a storage internal state detector for detecting an internal state of the fuel storage unit; a transmitter for sending a signal related to a fuel gas filling process to an external fuel supply source when the external fuel supply source fills the fuel storage unit with the fuel gas; and a controller having an information processor, which is supplied with a detected value detected by the storage internal state detector, and which processes information sent to the external fuel supply source based on the detected value, and a drive signal generator for converting data processed by the information processor into a drive signal for the transmitter, wherein the controller has a recording unit in which there is recorded at least one of the data processed by the information processor and the drive signal generated by the drive signal generator.
 2. The fuel cell system according to claim 1, wherein the controller records at least one of the data and the drive signal in the recording unit if the information processor detects a filling failure based on the detected value.
 3. A fuel cell system comprising: a fuel cell; a fuel storage unit for storing a fuel gas that is supplied to the fuel cell; a storage internal state detector for detecting an internal state of the fuel storage unit; a transmitter for sending a signal related to a fuel gas filling process to an external fuel supply source when the external fuel supply source fills the fuel storage unit with the fuel gas; a filling controller having an information processor, which is supplied with a detected value detected by the storage internal state detector, and which processes information sent to the external fuel supply source based on the detected value, and a drive signal generator for converting data processed by the information processor into a drive signal for the transmitter; and a recording controller in which there is recorded at least one of the data processed by the information processor of the filling controller, and the drive signal generated by the drive signal generator of the filling controller.
 4. The fuel cell system according to claim 3, wherein the recording controller includes a time grasping function, and records the data and the drive signal in relation to time.
 5. The fuel cell system according to claim 1, wherein the external fuel supply source includes: a fuel supply apparatus for supplying the fuel gas to the fuel storage unit, the fuel supply apparatus having a supply-side receiver for receiving the signal related to the fuel gas filling process sent from the transmitter on the side of the fuel storage unit; and a fuel-supply-side transmitter combined with the fuel supply apparatus, for emitting, to an exterior, a signal related to the fuel gas filling process when the fuel gas is supplied to the fuel storage unit; wherein the fuel cell system further comprises: a receiver for receiving the signal sent from the fuelsupply-side transmitter; and the controller records the signal received by the receiver in the recording unit.
 6. The fuel cell system according to claim 3, wherein the external fuel supply source includes: a fuel supply apparatus for supplying the fuel gas to the fuel storage unit, the fuel supply apparatus having a supply-side receiver for receiving the signal related to the fuel gas filling process sent from the transmitter on the side of the fuel storage unit; and a fuel-supply-side transmitter combined with the fuel supply apparatus, for emitting, to an exterior, a signal related to the fuel gas filling process when the fuel gas is supplied to the fuel storage unit; wherein the fuel cell system further comprises: a receiver for receiving the signal sent from the fuelsupply-side transmitter; and the recording controller records the signal received by the receiver.
 7. A fuel consumption system comprising: a fuel consumption apparatus; a fuel storage unit for storing a fuel gas that is supplied to the fuel consumption apparatus; a storage internal state detector for detecting an internal state of the fuel storage unit; a transmitter for sending a signal related to a fuel gas filling process to an external fuel supply source when the external fuel supply source fills the fuel storage unit with the fuel gas; and a controller having an information processor, which is supplied with a detected value detected by the storage internal state detector, and which processes information sent to the external fuel supply source based on the detected value, and a drive signal generator for converting data processed by the information processor into a drive signal for the transmitter, wherein the controller has a recording unit in which there is recorded at least one of the data processed by the information processor and the drive signal generated by the drive signal generator. 